Alabama lawmakers took a first step Wednesday toward enacting a policy that would make it easier for people to re-enter the workforce after serving their time for a criminal offense. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 6-2 for SB 200, which would create a “ban the box” policy for many state and local government jobs. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, goes to the Senate.

Ross’ bill would remove the criminal history checkbox from applications for many jobs with state and local governments in Alabama. SB 200 would include exceptions for certain public jobs, including ones where federal or state law deems certain convictions to be automatic bars to employment. The bill also would not apply to private employers.

SB 200 would not require state or local government employers to hire any particular person, and it would not forbid them to ask about an applicant’s conviction history. Instead, the bill would delay that inquiry until after an applicant has received a conditional job offer.

“Ban the box” advocates say such policies give applicants a fairer chance to be considered on their merits rather than being instantly eliminated from the applicant pool. “Increasing employment opportunities for people with records will reduce recidivism and improve economic stability in our communities,” Section 1 of SB 200 states.